Not Everyone At Facebook Is A Happy Camper

People may come under the impression that Facebook is one of the best places in the world to work, nobody is unhappy. Everyone loves the job and can’t wait to get up and come to work every day…right?

Wrong. Bus drivers who shuttle employees to and from its headquarters at Menlo Park, California, have voted to unionise. On Wednesday the 87 drivers who work for Loop Transportation, a contractor, voted 42-28 in favour of joining a union. Working conditions for the Facebook drivers has drawn much controversy.

Drivers work 16 hour days and often sleep in their cars between split shifts, according to a press release from Teamsters, the union which they have chosen to join. Drivers have also complained about the pay disparity between themselves and the workers they transport. Drivers earn on average between $17-$25 an hour while the average Facebook engineer earns more than $122,000 per year.

A rally was held outside the Facebook campus on Tuesday and delivered a petition of nearly 5,000 signatures to the company. Facebook refused to accept the petition, according to Teamsters and by Thursday a group entitled “Solidarity with Facebook Bus Drivers Union” had 1,145 members.

In a letter to Mark Zuckerberg in October, Rome Aloise, vice-president and secretary treasurer of Teamsters Local 853, compared the situation to “a time when noblemen were driven around in their coaches by their servants.”

About The Author

Mark is the founder of 60 Second Social media where he provides social media news and digital marketing analysis, he is also a proud father of his bearded dragon, Lola. You can follow him on Twitter here. You can also follow 60 Second Social on Twitter here.